Professor Layton and the Timeline Experiment
by Color-brain
Summary: OC insert, spoilers. Claire was sent 10 years into the future, only to become unstable and return to her own original time. But what if this hadn't happened? This is why a young woman, Juliet, is present: to create an alternate timeline.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Good morning, Bill," Claire greeted as she walked through the door of the lab, a little building nestled in a street of flats. Her face was lit with a smile, and she was especially eager for today's testing.

"Ah, yes," Bill mumbled, glancing up from the data he was studying. "Good morning, I suppose."

Claire hung her bag and jacket on the hooks near the entrance and went to join him, peeking over his shoulder to observe the numbers that held his attention. "What's that?" she asked, shattering Bill's concentration and making him jump.

His brows, which had been drawn together in confusion only a moment before, flew up, and he quickly threw a hand over the paper. "It's nothing," he insisted. "I'm sure it's nothing. I was just double-checking the numbers.

Claire tilted her head, suspicious. "Why, do you think something's wrong? We can always delay the test..." She said this, but in truth she had been very excited, and would be disappointed should the experiment truly be postponed.

"No, no," Bill assured her, "Dimitri thought our design was flawed, but looking at the numbers it doesn't appear to be. We'll test today, as planned."

Claire sighed and nodded her head. Although she usually would have trusted Dimitri, anticipation was getting the better of her.

She was, after all, about to be the world's first time traveller.

"Where _is_ Dimitri?" Claire realized that, although he usually arrived earlier than her, his jacket had been absent from the rack and she had yet to see him at all that day, working or otherwise. Had Bill forgotten to tell him they were testing today? It was unlikely, given the importance of it, but what other reason did he have not to be here? Had something happened to him?

"Oh, um... Nerves must've gotten to him. He... wasn't feeling well." Bill faltered through the explanation, hoping it was enough to convince Claire. "He stayed home, and told me to carry out the experiment without him."

Claire looked away. He really said that? But she would feel absolutely terrible if they did the experiment without him... "I think we should wait, at least until he feels better. That way we can look over the data again and fix any problems."

Bill sighed. "Claire, I wish we could do that, but if we don't do the test today, the government is going to cut our funding." This wasn't precisely true, but if they didn't complete the experiment in a few weeks it may well happen, and then they would be unable to continue. He would never get the credit he had earned after working on this blasted machine for so long.

The experiment had to be done soon. It had to be done _today._

Bill clapped his hands together. "Well, there's no point in putting it off any longer, then. Let's begin the test, shall we?"

"Oh... I suppose so..." Claire said, still unsure. She tried to get her spirits up, though, and be excited for their coming achievement, the profit of their sweat, tears, and years of hard work.

Bill adjusted the machine's setting and set the coordinates while Claire prepared herself. She would have felt a lot less anxious if Dimitri was there.

"It's ready. Go ahead and step inside."

Bill pressed a button that opened the side of the machine, and she stepped inside, her legs shaking slightly. She turned around to meet Bill's eyes. He and Dimitri, her colleagues, had been so good to her. They had treated her as an equal, although she was, in truth, only an assistant.

And now, they had given her the opportunity, the privilege, to make history.

The machine closed in around her and, upon activation, exploded.


	2. Introductions

**A/N: To any readers, thank you! I've been looking forward to writing this for quite some time and am very excited to finally be doing so! Please note that I'm still improving, so the styling might not be exact, and please offer any advice (constructive criticism) as you feel is noteworthy! Another thank-you!**

I opened my office door and, in turning out of it, almost ran into someone.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, jumping back a step or two. "I'm terribly sorry, I didn't see you there." It was a quick and impulsive apology, so I didn't even know who it was until I looked up to the face of-

Hershel Layton.

"No, the fault was completely my own. I was rather distracted. You have my apologies."

"That's quite kind of you, uh..." I scratched the back of my neck, rather embarrassed. "I don't really know how to address another professor. Do I call you...?"

He laughed lightly. "By my first name," he finished me. "We are co-workers, after all. I'm Hershel, Hershel Layton," he said, holding out a hand for me to shake.

I smiled shyly and returned his greeting. "Juliet Elderbrooke." After a moment, our hands parted, and I remembered where I might have heard the name before. "Oh, I've read about you in the papers! It really is a pleasure to meet you, you're, um, a very accomplished man."

"Well, I don't deserve as much credit as some people give me." Always a gentleman. "But I do what I can."

I adjusted the bag on my shoulder a bit awkwardly. "As much as I would love to stay and chat, I have a class in a few minutes - actually, my first, so I can't be late."

"Well, what kind of gentleman would I be to keep you here, then?" He stepped aside so I could continue my short journey, and I smiled gratefully.

"You really are as kind as I've heard," I said, stepping past. "It's been a pleasure." Glancing back, I caught a tip of his hat before I turned the corner at the end of the hallway.

I sighed in relief and leaned against the wall. Even if it had been our first true meeting, Hershel was a man I knew very well. I held a hand to my face and, feeling no heat, was surprised to find that I hadn't been blushing.

I had to remind myself not to become romantically involved; it would only lead to a broken heart. I was, after all, only here to acknowledge his opinion on the matter of my true purpose here.

I pushed off the wall and continued to the room I would be teaching in that day, into which a flog of students were filing. I blended in with the others until I was able to get inside, then began setting up at my desk. A few glances were stolen, saying, "That's our professor?" The students must have been surprised at my age - or at least, how young I look - and not known what to think of it.

Once all the students were seated, I picked up a piece of chalk and wrote my name in quick cursive on the blackboard. Turning around, I announced, "My name is Juliet Elderbrooke. You may call me 'Miss Elderbrooke', 'Professor', or 'Miss E'. This is Polydimentional Physics, so if you are in the wrong place please exit through the door you entered from." The attempted joke fell flat, as I would have expected. No one stood. In checking the student roster later, I would find that the number of students enrolled matched the amount present.

I released a bit of my nerves in a sigh. "Well, let's get to it, shall we?"

Gathering my papers, I had to sigh yet again, as I had been doing so all day. Teaching had been more stressful than I had thought at first, especially two lectures in a row with only a five minute break between. I would catch a bus home later in the afternoon, but until then I would be in my office. I stretched my arms before picking up my files, and pushed the door open with the other as I left.

I couldn't help the trace of a smile from stretching across my lips. All of this - teaching my own classes, casually walking to my office, and even having a long break after nerve-wracking work - was simply breathtaking. It was freeing, yet binding, in comparison to my usual busy schedule. Hopefully I wouldn't respond to the free time with impatience, but yet again, I had plenty that I could do.

My wandering thoughts focused as I saw Hershel and Luke, a boy I knew to be his "apprentice", walking down the hallway in a path that would soon converge with my own. He was heading to his office and I to mine, but I wouldn't be for long. I stopped before reaching his door and waited only a moment.

"Ah, Juliet, isn't it?" Hershel asked. I confirmed with a nod. "I'd like to introduce Luke, he's-"

"Professor Layton's apprentice!" the boy interrupted eagerly, as I knew he would. It spread another smile on my face. "Nice to meet you!"

Hershel fidgeted with the rim of his hat. "Well... Luke my boy, this is Juliet Elderbrooke. She's a new professor at the university. By the way, is it true that you're teaching the subject of polydimentional research?" Those final words were directed to me.

"Yes. Actually, it's been an interest of mine for quite a while, so I'm happy to be sharing my knowledge on the subject with my students. Did I catch a hint of interest in your voice, as well?"

He laughed lightly. "Perhaps. It certainly caught my attention." His eyes glanced away to his door, and he came to a realization. "Oh, how rude of me. Would you like to continue this conversation inside, perhaps over tea?"

I shifted awkwardly. "Um, sure. Just let me drop off these papers. I'll be but a moment."

"Of course." Hershel tipped his hat and opened the door, entering his office with Luke following close behind.

I released the breath I had been holding, and almost laughed at myself. Was I excited at being invited in for tea? I continued my original path down the hall and slipped into my office, still undecorated with exception of a few small boxes, to drop the files on my barren desk.

Turning around once again, my breath caught. This was my office. This was my new life, just a few doors away from Hershel Layton. I had wanted this for I don't know how long. I spent a few moments taking it in, then headed for the door and glanced back before leaving.

How long would I stay here?


End file.
